𝓦𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓷 𝓘𝓷 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓼

Chapter 1

Alankriti

"Alankriti wake up!, The Empress wants you now!!".

It was 5 am in the morning and sleep was far away for everyone in the palace. Today was the start of Navaratri. The next 10 days were going to be madness. Jaipur was always so bright and colorful during this time, even the crows looked dashing in the sunlight. Everyone had a positive spirit and aura. For the royal family, the next 9 days were going to be stressful. Everything had to be perfect, nothing could go wrong. Alankriti was now used to this madness. she was initially perplexed after seeing how much effort and work it takes to get the entire city lit and ready for Diwali. The main events took place near the Parvathi temple as a memory of the time they found their lost princess.

"Akka! ennaku thoonganum!" (I want to sleep sister!)

"princess but your help is needed, you are next in line for the throne!"

"please stop calling me princess, call me Alankriti"

"Mudiyathu! I have to address you as princess, I have to follow the orders"

"Hmmm, that will be the first rule I change when I'm on the throne"

Devi akka(sister/maid) smiles. She knew just then that Alankriti was too pure for this world. She was different from the other family members and that surprised everyone. Alankriti got ready in a Pink and white lehenga and looked at herself in the mirror. she was beautiful but all she could see were her unhealed scars. she was smiling on the outside but deep down she knew that this was not her place. she was no princess. she was a dancer's daughter, and she belonged with the other locals. Alankriti had a hard time accepting her new normal. So to escape it for a while, she told devi akka that she was going to pray and rushed out of the palace to really experience the magic of Navaratri. She wanted to have local street food and dance amidst the crowds and inhale the fresh air. Yes, she was extremely grateful for her new life and she would never forget what Madhavi and Akshar have done for her but she also misses her old life.

Luckily, no one would recognize her. the only picture the locals had was from when she was younger so no one could identify her now. Even though Hindi was the popular language, everyone knew Tamil as the royal family was Tamil.

"Anna enna Parvati koil ku kootitu pooringala?" (brother can you take me to the Parvati temple?)

"kaddipa ma! unodu per enna?" (sure, what's your name?)

"Alankriti"

"Paarah princess oda name, kuduthu vachiruka ma! seri 2 rupees ma" (Wow! Thats the Princesse's name, aren't you lucky! The fare will be 2 rupees dear")

"Seri na" (ok brother)

Alankriti smiled to herself. People loved the royal family soo much and at that moment, Alankriti felt so blessed. She was indeed lucky.

As soon as she started walking down the market, she could hear Parvati Patti singing and girls in their 20s were dancing so gracefully. she wanted to join them so she rushed towards them.

Ishaan

"Hyderabad"

"NO. Jaipur"

"Hyderabad"

"Jaipur"

"hyder.."

"SHUT UP. We are not going on holiday. we are going to gather news"

"But Ishaannn man Jaipur is so boring." (Hardya)

"Hardya please da, Jaipur has changed over the years, the last time we went, I was 12 or something, Akshay knock some sense into him" (Ishaan)

"Haha Hardya, I win. We are going to Jaipur" (Akshay)

"Akshay shut up" (Hardya)

"Ok so tomorrow is day one of Navaratri so we will try to reach there tomorrow early morning and roam about." (Jaipur)

"Hardya guess what, we might be able to see the lost princess" (Akshay)

"Ohh yesss! the lost princess!!!" (Hardya)

"dei summa irrunga da, eppo parthalum lost princess nu, ava ena avalo azhlaga va irrupa? irundhalum seri, naamaku royalty set agathu" (Stop this nonsense about the princess! Is she even that pretty? even if she is, royalty and I will not work out!) ( (Ishaan)

"ennamo po, seri nammaku train innum half an hour la. the station we will arrive in is called Parvathi station. it's in 1meter distance to the Parvathi temple" (train is in half an hour) (Akshay)

Ishaan felt a tingling sensation when he heard the name. There was something special about the name.

Ishaan was a sweet boy and he was very handsome too. girls would all drool over him but Ishaan never even had a crush before. he loved to love but he gave up after trying to find someone. Even though he was a Muslim, Ishaan loved visiting temples and admiring architecture. He would watch the performances but he could never feel the love from their voices, he couldn't connect to them. That wasn't his fault though. It was society's, society that said Hindus and Muslims would never connect. That was wrong though.

Ishaan got ready and stood in front of the mirror. for once he loved his reflection. He was himself, not a prince. he smiled and then rushed of to catch his train to jaipur.